Ex-GOP congressman says Trump's Mar-a-Lago dinner with white supremacist Nick Fuentes 'further diminishes' the former president as a 'serious' political figure
"This is simply inexcusable that he would have dinner with this noted white nationalist, antisemite Nick Fuentes," former Rep. Dent said of Trump.
Former GOP Rep. Charlie Dent of Pennsylvania on Saturday criticized former President Donald Trump for hosting white supremacist and Holocaust denier Nick Fuentes at his Mar-a-Lago club last week — stating that it was "appalling" that it occurred.
Dent, a moderate who served in the House from 2005 to 2018 and backed President Joe Biden over Trump in the 2020 presidential election, told CNN's Jim Acosta it was "inexcusable" for Trump to have dined with Fuentes, who was brought along as a guest of Ye, the rapper formerly known as Kanye West.
Ye, who has lost lucrative deals with Balenciaga and Adidas after he made antisemitic remarks last month, came to the South Florida resort with Fuentes to speak with Trump after the rapper floated a 2024 presidential campaign.
Trump, who was first elected to the White House in 2016 only to lose to Biden in 2020, recently launched his 2024 presidential campaign.
Dent, a former chairman of the House Ethics Committee, was less than impressed by Trump's statement, where the former president called the dinner "quick and uneventful" and said Ye "unexpectedly showed up with three of his friends whom I knew nothing about."
"This is simply inexcusable that he would have dinner with this noted white nationalist, antisemite Nick Fuentes, and of course, Kanye West with all of his baggage. It is simply appalling that this happened," the congressman said.
"And in fact, it's incumbent upon the Republican establishment, what's left of it, to stamp this kind of element from within the GOP once and for all," he continued to say. "We saw it with William F. Buckley and many others back in the day, the John Birch Society, got rid of these radical, extreme elements. There needs to be a concerted effort. This whole 'America First' movement and the ugly historical connotations back to the 1930s has been forgotten by too many of our fellow citizens, regrettably."
Dent went on to blast Trump's handlers, wondering how Fuentes was even allowed to meet with the former president.
"It also speaks to a larger problem for former President Trump — that there apparently are no gatekeepers. There are no adults. There doesn't seem to be any political discipline to speak. How a dinner like this could even happen is also horrible," he said.
"But finally, I guess I would say this further diminishes Donald Trump as a serious political figure. His erstwhile presidential primary opponents should be quite happy about this event because it will simply elevate them and hurt Trump, and Trump is diminishing. But he's still a dangerous figure," he added.
Dent, a moderate who served in the House from 2005 to 2018 and backed President Joe Biden over Trump in the 2020 presidential election, told CNN's Jim Acosta it was "inexcusable" for Trump to have dined with Fuentes, who was brought along as a guest of Ye, the rapper formerly known as Kanye West.
Ye, who has lost lucrative deals with Balenciaga and Adidas after he made antisemitic remarks last month, came to the South Florida resort with Fuentes to speak with Trump after the rapper floated a 2024 presidential campaign.
Trump, who was first elected to the White House in 2016 only to lose to Biden in 2020, recently launched his 2024 presidential campaign.
Dent, a former chairman of the House Ethics Committee, was less than impressed by Trump's statement, where the former president called the dinner "quick and uneventful" and said Ye "unexpectedly showed up with three of his friends whom I knew nothing about."
"This is simply inexcusable that he would have dinner with this noted white nationalist, antisemite Nick Fuentes, and of course, Kanye West with all of his baggage. It is simply appalling that this happened," the congressman said.
"And in fact, it's incumbent upon the Republican establishment, what's left of it, to stamp this kind of element from within the GOP once and for all," he continued to say. "We saw it with William F. Buckley and many others back in the day, the John Birch Society, got rid of these radical, extreme elements. There needs to be a concerted effort. This whole 'America First' movement and the ugly historical connotations back to the 1930s has been forgotten by too many of our fellow citizens, regrettably."
Dent went on to blast Trump's handlers, wondering how Fuentes was even allowed to meet with the former president.
"It also speaks to a larger problem for former President Trump — that there apparently are no gatekeepers. There are no adults. There doesn't seem to be any political discipline to speak. How a dinner like this could even happen is also horrible," he said.
"But finally, I guess I would say this further diminishes Donald Trump as a serious political figure. His erstwhile presidential primary opponents should be quite happy about this event because it will simply elevate them and hurt Trump, and Trump is diminishing. But he's still a dangerous figure," he added.
